Alzheimer’s may be the cruelest of brain diseases. Decades before the first signs of dementia strike, toxic protein clumps called amyloid plaques have been slowly, insidiously building up in the brain. The plaques clog the brain’s waste disposal system and wreak havoc on the delicate molecular machinery that underlies our memories, our history, our personality. By the time deceptively benign senile moments turn into full-blown dementia, it’s too late to treat. Our helplessness against dementia is especially frustrating, because scientists know how to slow it down if caught early. The answer is passive immunization. Just like vaccines stimulate the body… read more